#3 transformed into rabbet

Pile of shavings

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>Here is another part of the first picture.

Compared to a 10 1/2

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>Here is my transformed rabbet alongside a #10 1/2.

Mouth

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>Here is the mouth.

The blade

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>Here is the blade. This took more time than the plane because the blade was in nasty shape. I had to square the end first. Cutting down the side was not easy because the blade got harder as I reached the business end. It was so hard that my file skated right off. Pretty good blade for a rusty junker. By the way, this plane works pretty good. It is easy to hold and cuts like a champ.

Nice work Jim!

Rob Brophy

>It reminds me of Mr Bailey's #11 Victor....just needs one of those nifty depth stops and a fence. Rob

Well blow me down...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond, CA

>Looks real nice Jim. Now ya need to make a lefty!

Tool Cool! ;~)

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native, Presently Away

>Jim,

That is great! Glad we was able to motivate you. ;~) That donor planes is a Miller Falls for sure, and a later model at that. I dropped and broke a #5 sized on of those, and the metal looked very "grainy".

I think I'd be inclined to radius the upper part of the cheek cut to limit stresses and hopefully avoid cracking.

Jeez, between you and Rob I'd say that a whole lot mre grease has just be slathered onto der 'Slope.

Got anymore genius ideas for transformations?

How about turning a #4 into a 112?

T.O.

It's been done, but didn't work all that well...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond, CA

>Our good buddies at Vertias made an insert to place in a No. 4 to turn it into a scraper. I heard it didn't work too well.

Re: It's been done, but didn't work all that well.

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native, Presently Away

>what I was thinking of was to permanetly mount a block to the existing frog. and to that block attach the blade. Coarse, it would be adjustable pitch. Perhaps frog blocks of different angles would be the solution to that. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Perhaps the blocks could be made of a dense wood. I have no machinist tools nor skills, but who says they're required. Amazing what can be done with little tools when the ingenuity bug as bit.

So Rob, do tell, what that scraper insert a flop?

T.O.

T.O.

I own the scraper insert

Gary B. in Central NY

>and bought the heavier blade, but I've never been that impressed with it....mind you it's the only lee valley/veritas tool I own that I can say that of (and it's a favorite store of mine) I think it'd do ok if the blade was MUCH heavier.....but the thick one is still less then 1/32 thick, and just chatters.........oh well

Re: #3 transformed into rabbet

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Nice work Jim.

That is something that I have been thinking about but has remained on the To Do list. Your efforts may just get me going ..

I would prefer to make it double-sided, as per the #10. Do you have thoughts on a minimum sized side opening that would allow for maximise strength? Not having used a #10 I assume that the side opening is just to fit the blade, and not for shavings to escape (as with a shoulder plane).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: #3 transformed into rabbet

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>I should have mentioned that the design I have in mind is to cut a slot just a tad wider than the blade, rounding the ends to prevent cracking. The slot would extend back just far enough to accomodate the blade - perhaps 1"?

Clearly, shavings could not escape through the slot - the question is, would they need to do so?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Great idea what about a nicker

Jim in Burlington On

>I'm going to test it out on a cracked body of a #4 and then hopefully come up with a plane just for the job. What kinda idea's did you come up with for a nicker? I was thinking of a wedge variety commonly used on wood planes. I'd add a little piece in behind the slot for the nicker to help stabalize the plane. Any other idea's would make for a good discussion.

Re: #3 transformed into rabbet

Jim in Burlington On

>The smaller the hole you cut the less plane blade will be left. Even with alot of use a 1/4 of blade is going to take years to use up with a 1/4" left.

I hate nickers

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>They take up time and leave worry spots all over the rabbet. I like to use a boxcutter, a saw kerf, or a 1/8 groove (plowed by a #45). All of these techniques are simple,leave a nice looking wall and make a perfectly square corner with no worry nicks. For the piece of wood in the picture, I used a 1/8 saw kerf.

The problem

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>is strength. The corners around the mouth add a great deal of strength--taking them out on both sides removes stiffness. Take a #10 or #10 1/2 in your hands and gently flex--the sole will move. I think it will crack the first time it is dropped. Big design flaw in my mind. As evidence, just look at the number that have cracked walls. Gnawing out just one side solves some of that problem as the sole retains its stiffness. As for the blade exposure, I left about 3/8" of blade.

Another problem

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>is sharpening the blade. The blade on a #10 is about 2 1/2" wide and has to be sharpened exactly on a right angle. There is no slop (some call it camber) as you have with bench plane blades. This blade needs to be dead on. That is hard to do with such a wide and flimsy blade. It is much easier to square up one leg and then use the lateral adjuster. In my opinion, a #10 in use would be a real pain at sharpening time. Again I vote for two planes--strength of sole and ease of blade setting.

Size

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>I finished my opening after I had the blade to size. Did a few trial fits and then cleaned it up. I was going for the smallest opening that was practical for the blade.

Let me tell you... *LINK*

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>About George Langfords conversion. It is very helpful to have above average metalworking skills...right Jim?

Go here(sorry, don't do links yet)

http://www.georgesbasement.com/no4scrpr.html

This is a pretty tool.JR


http://www.georgesbasement.com/no4scrpr.html

Re: The problem

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>How about a reinforcement riveted and epoxied to the inside of the hump?

I have seen repaired true #10s done this way and it may help a weaker body not intended for the cut out. I would use a tool steel piece to get away from the brittle nature of cast iron.JR

WOW

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>That was quite a conversion. If I didn't already have a LN112, I would be tempted.

My thoughts exactly...

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>I have a 10 1/2 to repair and have been thinking about epoxy and 1/32 tool steel. The inside of the sole is irregular from casting and there is not much room to work. If you use too much patch material, it is hard to remove the blade. I like the epoxy idea better than welding.

Re: It's been done, but didn't work all that well.

Neal in San Jose

>I have one, and it works just fine. It has a disconceting "snap" at the end of each stroke, but I do use it with good results. The main problem seems to be, like a lot of tools, it takes a bit of fiddling to get it to work, and then you have to use it a while to get far enough up the learning curve for it to start to perform.

Re: My thoughts exactly...

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>And it's reversable if needed. Add some heat and Bob's your uncle.JR